1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the management of inventory and quality control, and more particularly, to the use of radio frequency identification (“RFID”) technology in the management and quality control of reusable inventory throughout predetermined lifecycles across multiple locations and processes.
2. Description of Related Art
The number of surgical procedures performed at hospitals and surgical facilities has increased dramatically in recent years. As the annual number of surgical procedures has increased, hospitals and surgical facilities have struggled to manage the supply and processing of surgical supplies, particularly reusable articles such as surgical gowns and drapes. As a result hospitals and surgical facilities are increasingly relying on outsourced processing and supply chain management services to process and supply surgical supplies.
Surgical gowns are worn by surgeons and surgical staff while performing surgical procedures. The primary function of surgical gowns is to provide an adequate liquid barrier to protect the patient, surgeons, and surgical staff. Protecting medical professionals from bodily fluids is critical. While disposable paper gowns are currently in use, manufacturers of those gowns have been forced to add plastic liners to the paper gowns in order to provide an adequate liquid barrier. The plastic liners, however, reduce breathability thereby causing the wearer to be uncomfortably hot. In recent years, new fabrics, such as repellant polyester microfibers and laminated reusable fabrics and materials have been developed for use in reusable gowns. Reusable gowns made of these new fabrics offer greater protection than paper gowns, are comfortable, and durable. As a result, the use of reusable surgical gowns, drapes, surgical towels, back table and mayo stand covers has met with widespread and growing acceptance.
The reusable microfiber fabrics and laminates used in the various reusable textile articles discussed above, require carefully controlled laundering and sterilization between uses in order to properly clean and disinfect the articles while maintaining the integrity of the fabric. Many hospitals simply do not have the facilities necessary to properly clean and sterilize the large number of reusable textiles used, and have been otherwise overburdened by the requirements relating to the management and processing of reusable textiles.
As a result, a number of state-of-the-art processing centers have been built to provide manage and distribute a wide range of reusable textile products to hospitals. It has been found that a most efficient method of providing reusable textile products to hospitals is to maintain a sufficient inventory to support daily delivery and retrieval of reusable textile products. In certain cases reusable articles may be delivered and retrieved to/from the operating room thereby reducing distribution and handling costs incurred by the hospital.
By entrusting an outside vendor with many aspects relating to the management, distribution, and handling of reusable surgical articles hospitals have eliminated many costs associated with the alternative use of disposable articles. For example, bio-hazardous waste handling and disposal costs are substantially eliminated. In addition, the elimination of redundant receiving chores at the receiving dock, central supply, and the operating room was realized. Finally, hospitals were able to substantially reduce their inventory and inventory investment.
Managing and processing large inventories of reusable surgical articles, however, is an enormous and time-consuming task. The large number of articles in inventory requires detailed inventory management and data collection. In addition, reusable textile garments and the like eventually wear out from use and processing and thus have predetermined life cycles. Accordingly, data relating to the number of uses or use cycles for each reusable textile article must be obtained and tracked. Furthermore, reusable gowns, drapes, and the like are often damaged and thus must be visually inspected for the presence of damage, tears, and holes. Lastly, reusable textile articles must be periodically tested to confirm that the fabric retains an important characteristic, namely, resistance or impermeability to liquid.
In an effort to track individual surgical garments among large numbers of said garments attempts have been made to attach bar code labels to each garment for scanning at certain points in the distribution and processing chain. The use of bar code labels to track surgical garments, however, has proven problematic and inefficient. For example, bar code labels are easily damaged or obscured thereby preventing efficient scanning and data entry. In addition, bar code scanning can be time consuming, particularly in view of the time required to locate and properly scan the bar code label on the item.
Similar problems may be experienced in other fields wherein articles are distributed or processed. Attempts have been made to track the locations of portable equipment via radio frequency identification (“RFID”) technology. U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,776, issued to Black, discloses the use of RFID transponders to identify and locate equipment in a hospital setting by affixing RFID tags to the electrical cord used for powering the equipment and placing corresponding RFID readers at each electrical outlet. U.S. Pat. No. 6,535,129, issued to Petrick, discloses a system for reducing paperwork by monitoring the chain of custody of medical specimens (e.g. blood samples) as the specimens move from the collection custodians to the laboratory using RFID technology.
While the prior art systems may prove adequate for the limited uses and applications disclosed, there remains a need for an improved inventory management system capable of monitoring use cycles for individual articles of re-usable inventory or non-perishable inventory. There further exists a need for such an inventory management system having data collection and information sharing capabilities such that inventory distributed from multiple remote locations may be effectively managed. There also exists a need for such an inventory management system adapted with RFID technology so as to facilitate real time feedback communication to and from production level employees to assist in managing quality control, inspection, periodic testing, and lifecycle management of reusable inventory.